Miserere (Allegri)

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Miserere (Allegri)
The Sistine Chapel
Miserere, (full title: Miserere mei, Deus, Latin for "Have mercy on
me, O God") by Italian composer Gregorio Allegri, is a setting of
Psalm 51 (50) composed during the reign of Pope Urban VIII,
probably during the 1630s, for use in the Sistine Chapel during matins,
as part of the exclusive Tenebrae service on Holy Wednesday and
Good Friday of Holy Week.
Description and use
The Miserere is written for two choirs, one of five and one of four
voices, and is an example of Renaissance polyphony surviving to the
present day. One of the choirs sings a simple version of the original
Miserere chant; the other, spatially separated, sings an ornamented
"commentary" on this.
The Tenebrae service where the Miserere would be sung normally
began at dusk which is what tenebrae means. During the ritual, candles
would be extinguished one by one, save for the last candle which
remained alight and was then hidden. Allegri composed his setting of the Miserere for the final act within the first
lesson of the Tenebrae service.
History of the Miserere
It was the last of twelve falsobordone Miserere settings composed and chanted at the service since 1514 and is the
most popular: at some point, it became forbidden to transcribe the music and it was allowed to be performed only at
those particular services, thus adding to the mystery surrounding it. Writing it down or performing it elsewhere was
punishable by excommunication.
[1]
The setting that escaped from the Vatican is actually a conflation of verses set by
Gregorio Allegri around 1638 and Tommaso Bai (also spelled "Baj"; 16501718) in 1714.
Three authorized copies of the work were distributed prior to 1770 to the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, to the
King of Portugal, and to Padre (Giovanni Battista) Martini. However, none of them succeeded in capturing the
beauty of the Miserere as performed annually in the Sistine Chapel.Wikipedia:Citation needed According to the
popular story (backed up by family letters), the fourteen-year-old Mozart was visiting Rome, when he first heard the
piece during the Wednesday service. Later that day, he wrote it down entirely from memory, returning to the Chapel
that Friday to make minor corrections. Some time during his travels, he met the British historian Dr Charles Burney,
who obtained the piece from him and took it to London, where it was published in 1771. Once the piece was
published, the ban was lifted; Mozart was summoned to Rome by the Pope, only instead of excommunicating the
boy, the Pope showered praises on him for his feat of musical genius. The work was also transcribed by Felix
Mendelssohn in 1831 and Franz Liszt, and various other 18th and 19th century sources survive. Since the lifting of
the ban, Allegri's Miserere has become one of the most popular a cappella choral works now
performed.Wikipedia:Citation needed
The original ornamentation that made the work famous were Renaissance techniques that preceded the composition
itself, and it was these techniques that were closely guarded by the Vatican. Few written sources (not even Burney's)
showed the ornamentation, and it was this that created the legend of the work's mystery. However, the Roman priest
Pietro Alfieri published an edition in 1840 with the intent of preserving the performance practice of the Sistine choir
in the Allegri and Bai compositions, including ornamentation.
Miserere (Allegri)
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Recordings
King's College Chapel, Cambridge
Allegri's Miserere is one of the most often-recorded examples of late
Renaissance music. An early and "celebrated"
[2]
recording of the
Miserere was that made in March 1963 by the Choir of King's College,
Cambridge, conducted by Sir David Willcocks, which was sung in
English
[3]
and featured the then-treble Roy Goodman. This recording
of the Miserere was originally part of a gramophone LP recording
entitled 'Evensong for Ash Wednesday' but the Miserere has
subsequently been re-released on various compilation discs.
Historically informed recordings have been released by The Sixteen
and The Tallis Scholars, and more recently by Tenebrae.
Text
Original
The original translation of the psalm used for the piece was Latin:
Benefit of clergy#The MiserereMiserere mei, Deus: secundum
magnam misericordiam tuam.Et secundum multitudinem miserationum
tuarum, dele iniquitatem meam. Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea: et a peccato meo munda me. Quoniam
iniquitatem meam ego cognosco: et peccatum meum contra me est semper. Tibi soli peccavi, et malum coram te feci:
ut justificeris in sermonibus tuis, et vincas cum judicaris. Ecce enim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum: et in peccatis
concepit me mater mea. Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti: incerta et occulta sapientiae tuae manifestasti mihi. Asperges
me hysopo, et mundabor: lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor. Auditui meo dabis gaudium et laetitiam: et
exsultabunt ossa humiliata. Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis: et omnes iniquitates meas dele. Cor mundum crea in
me, Deus: et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis. Ne proiicias me a facie tua: et spiritum sanctum tuum ne
auferas a me. Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui: et spiritu principali confirma me. Docebo iniquos vias tuas: et impii
ad te convertentur. Libera me de sanguinibus, Deus, Deus salutis meae: et exsultabit lingua mea justitiam tuam.
Domine, labia mea aperies: et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam. Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem
utique: holocaustis non delectaberis. Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus: cor contritum, et humiliatum, Deus, non
despicies. Benigne fac, Domine, in bona voluntate tua Sion: ut aedificentur muri Ierusalem. Tunc acceptabis
sacrificium justitiae, oblationes, et holocausta: tunc imponent super altare tuum vitulos.
English translation
This translation is from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, and is used in Ivor Atkins' English edition of the
Miserere (published by Novello):
Have mercy upon me, O God, after Thy great goodness
According to the multitude of Thy mercies do away mine offences.
Wash me throughly from my wickedness: and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my faults: and my sin is ever before me.
Against Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that Thou mightest be justified in Thy saying,
and clear when Thou art judged.
Behold, I was shapen in wickedness: and in sin hath my mother conceived me.
But lo, Thou requirest truth in the inward parts: and shalt make me to understand wisdom secretly.
Miserere (Allegri)
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Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness: that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice.
Turn Thy face from my sins: and put out all my misdeeds.
Make me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Thy presence: and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
O give me the comfort of Thy help again: and stablish me with Thy free Spirit.
Then shall I teach Thy ways unto the wicked: and sinners shall be converted unto Thee.
Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, Thou that art the God of my health: and my tongue shall sing of Thy
righteousness.
Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord: and my mouth shall shew Thy praise.
For Thou desirest no sacrifice, else would I give it Thee: but Thou delightest not in burnt-offerings.
The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt Thou not despise.
O be favourable and gracious unto Sion: build Thou the walls of Jerusalem.
Then shalt Thou be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, with the burnt-offerings and oblations: then
shall they offer young bullocks upon Thine altar.
Psalm 51
Notes and references
[1] Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., 1954, Eric Blom, ed.
[2] [2] Gramophone Classical Good CD Guide
[3] BBC Radio 3's Breakfast program (http:/ / www. bbc.co. uk/ programmes/ b015ygrl) (17 October 2011)
Sources
A detailed discussion of the piece's authentic sources and manuscript history, and an authentic performing edition
(http:/ / ancientgroove. co. uk/ essays/ allegri. html)
Documents describing Mozart's transcription of the Allegri Miserere (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/
20060218171220/ http:/ / en. wikisource. org/ wiki/
Documents_describing_Mozart's_transcription_of_the_Allegri_Miserere)
External links
Miserere: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Free scores of Allegri's Miserere in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
Extract from Allegri's Miserere (http:/ / www. the-sixteen. org. uk/ recordings/ coro_14. htm) from Harry
Christophers choral ensemble The Sixteen
Psalm 50 (51) (Latin Vulgate) (http:/ / www. drbo. org/ lvb/ chapter/ 21050. htm)
Psalm 50 (51) (Douay-Rheims translation from the Vulgate) (http:/ / www. drbo. org/ chapter/ 21050. htm)
Psalm 51 (50) New American Bible (http:/ / www. usccb. org/ nab/ bible/ psalms/ psalm51. htm) from the United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (http:/ / www. usccb. org)
Article Sources and Contributors
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Article Sources and Contributors
Miserere (Allegri) Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=604043980 Contributors: -Ril-, Allegrilover, Altenmann, Ambrosechappel, AndrewWTaylor, Antandrus, Benstam,
Bigdaddygirl, Brookie, Cdman882, Ceoil, Cgingold, Ch1mxg, Cjthellama, Cumulus Clouds, D4g0thur, DTOx, Danny, Deor, Der Golem, Dick Shane, Dricherby, Dylanthalus, Ecummenic, Ed!,
Feline Hymnic, Flyer22, FordPrefect42, Francis Schonken, Glenfarclas, Graham87, Groundsquirrel13, ILikeTrains, Isamit, It Is Me Here, JackofOz, Joshtaco, JzG, Koavf, Lt brian x, Man vyi,
Mato, Meldrey, Mimihitam, Mvl22, NeilN, Ningelratz, Pigsonthewing, Plantdrew, Princess Lirin, R'n'B, RafaAzevedo, Rich Farmbrough, Rjwilmsi, Robma, Safebreaker, Sirlanz, Sparafucil,
Stroika, Svick, Tabletop, Tatufan, Tdent, Thoughtfortheday, Tony1, Tynam, Vaarky, Winterelf, YKWSG, Ymgve, , 131 anonymous edits
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
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File:King's college chapel roof and organ.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:King's_college_chapel_roof_and_organ.jpg License: Creative Commons
Attribution-Sharealike 2.0 Contributors: Gunnar Wrobel from Hamburg, Germany
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